Part 32: Chapter 3, Part 8: Northern Desert

You voted, and now Celica is going after Dean in the Northern Desert.



At first this map looks like a straightforward slugfest. But there's a corridor of non-desert tiles down the center of the map that effectively serves as a chokepoint. The healing tile is mainly a distraction, no one will ever even approach it in this battle.



All of the mercenaries are level 5, and while they're fast enough that only Catria can get in two attacks, they're not very tough so some simple teamwork will take them out quickly enough.



Dean, however, is a legitimate threat. Major Power and Speed, and high enough defenses that he won't be a simple takedown. The Hero Sword that Dean is wielding gives 5 Might with 100% Hit Rate, 30% Crit Rate, and 0 Weight. So we really don't want him to get in too many attacks on us.


Turn 1



For the most part we're just going to let them come to us.


Turn 2



Nothing happening yet....


Turn 3



Leo can reach pretty far with the Steel Bow, taking a chip out of a merc here.



Got a pretty good line formed up here, with our three mercs ready to meet up with the enemy merc horde.


Turn 4



Palla launches a spear at the lead merc for some more damage, then Boey follows up with a deadly bolt.



Celica gets started on Dean, landing a lightning bolt of her own for 10 damage. Leo chips in as well with another 5 damage.



A better plan would've probably had Valbo taking the first shots from Dean.



Dean speaks when first attacking us. Kind of a hint that he can be recruited, though not the path we've chosen.



Kamui gets pretty well wrecked but at least he survived.



Not much luck on the level, though.


Turn 5



First order of business - Celica whips out the Angel spell to bring Dean down to 4 HP, which is enough for Saber to get the kill. The Hero Sword goes to Saber as well, but he's already got the Holy Sword so the extra goes into storage.



Leo takes the Angel Ring from Kamui, then promptly misses his target here. But he only needed 3 XP for a level anyway, and....



The Angel Ring finally works as intended. On an archer, but still.



Palla works over another merc slogging through the desert, but Boey misses this time.



Kamui gets patched up by Jenny, and May takes the Angel Ring from Leo for her turn.



Palla fights off a merc on the enemy phase. Valbo and Saber also take a couple scratches. With our current setup, the rest of this battle is pretty easy.


Turn 6



Boey starts off with a fireball, so that May can take the kill.



Hmm, not bad.



Jesse gets in his first attacks, with Valbo following up, but even with both attacks, the enemy merc still lives. Palla's picking up the Angel Ring for her turn.



Catria double-attacks this merc, letting Celica finish it off.



Saber wraps up the turn with an opening shot on another merc.



Catria is attacked on the enemy phase, for all the good it does. Jesse trades blows with another merc.


Turn 7



The merc that Jesse and Valbo had crippled tried to retreat one tile at a time. Palla puts a quick stop to that.



Another fantastic level, this time on a unit that can really make use of it.



Catria flies off to claim the Angel Ring for herself, so Celica finishes off her attacker.



Teamwork! Saber, Kamui, Boey, and Leo all attack this merc. Kamui and Boey miss but that's ok because Jenny swoops in to wipe out the merc with her dark magic.


Turn 8



Just three mercs left here, with Saber putting up with an attack on the enemy phase.



Catria doesn't do as much damage holding the Angel Ring instead of the Steel Lance, but she still gets in two attacks.



Another great twin level results.



Leo takes another shot and that lets Jenny steal another kill.



Celica then picks up another kill after Saber and Palla weaken her target.



The last merc goes after Celica on the enemy phase, but doesn't get very far.


Turn 9



After some attacks by Saber and Boey to weaken the last merc, and another hand-off of the Angel Ring from Catria, Jenny gets the final kill.



Well, the good levels were fun while they lasted.



As soon as the battle ends, Sonia retreats to Geyse's Fort, clearing out the Southern Desert as well.


Next time:



It's technically Alm's turn, but Celica is a battle behind here, so: Celica engages in her mid-chapter boss fight at Geyse's Fort.